Fiesta, Fiesta, Siesta, Siesta

It rained all weekend in SF, and I cooped up in my cozy living room with a warm blanket, good company, and my netflix account. This had several consequences: 1) It caused me to watch 4 movies. 2) It made me crave something warm and cozy to eat. 3) It left my hands free and antsy to fidget as I sat around and watched these movies. So... I made tamales.

To be perfectly honest, it was no easy feat. The filling was absolutely delicious before I even folded it up into the husks: it was creamy, sweet, spicy, and warm. I ate a bowlful. It was the folding it up into little bite-sized tamales that took time. But if you have time on your hands, I promise it's worth it. You can make a bunch and then freeze for up to 2 months and microwave them when you're in the mood. I now have a freezer full of 20 or more mini-tamales to warm up whenever a rainy day or a craving strikes.

And honestly, if you don't have that much time, make the corn pudding! It basically tastes like really delicious creamed corn, minus all the cream, plus a little spice. I can taste it now....

I got the recipe from this blog I love, From Argentina with Love. It's fully of adventurous stories and Argentine recipes galore. Try it out, and check out the blog. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

HUMITAS EN CHALA CON QUESO DE CABRA

(CORN PUDDING TAMALES WITH GOAT CHEESE)

THE GOODS

8 ears of fresh corn, in their husks ($4 - on special at Safeway)

1 yellow onion, chopped ($0.40)

4 roasted piquillo peppers, chopped (I used red peppers, for $1)

6 oz. soft goat cheese (I used honey goat cheese because it was cheapest, $3.50)

1/2 cup milk ($1.49)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional - can leave out if you don't like spice)

Special equipment: cotton string, steamer basket

The Grand Total: $10.39, if it makes 8 servings, that's $1.30 per serving

THE WAY

To Roast your Peppers (I got this part from this thread on CookingLight.com)

Cut the peppers in half and clean out the seeds and innards. Place them on a baking sheet skin side up. Place the sheet in a 450-500 degree oven (you can also use the toaster oven, like I did!) set on broil. The skin will start to blacken and soften in 7-10 minutes. 

Once the skins are brownish-black, remove from the oven and immediately place the peppers in a large ziploc bag. Close and let sit for 20 minutes or so (or until the peppers have time to cool and "sweat"). Once they have cooled you will be able to peel the skins right off. What you will have left is a moist, wonderfully cooked pepper.

For the Corn Pudding

Chop the ends off of the ears of corn (you can use a scissors for the top end, and a heavy knife for the other) so that the leaves are easy to remove.  Carefully remove the leaves of the corn husk and reserve.  Remove and discard the silk.

 

Using a box grater (an important step--results will not be the same if you cut the kernels off and use a food processor) grate the ears of corn over the large holes on the grater into a bowl.  Slide a knife down the side of each cob to squeeze out any extra starchy juice.

  

 Meanwhile, combine the butter and olive oil in a medium sized non-reactive pot.  Heat over medium high heat, and add the onion, sauteing until translucent but not brown.  Add in the grated corn and its juices, stirring and heating until thickened, about 5 minutes.  

 

 Stir in the milk, and heat through.  Continue to stir until milk is absorbed and humitas mixture is thick. The consistency you're going for here is a thickened, pudding-like one.  Add salt, taste for seasoning, and stir in the piquillo peppers and the crushed red pepper.  Remove the humitas from heat, and let cool completely.

When the humitas has cooled (this may also help to thicken the pudding), start your assembly.  Put a large pot fitted with a metal colander or steamer basket on the top (see below) halfway full of water.  Heat the water to a boil.

Cut the string to fit around each tamal. I used about 2 feet per tamal, but you may want to try one out before you cut enough for all of them.

While the water is coming to a boil, assemble the tamales like this:

Place one leaf over another like a cross. Place a dollop of humitas in the middle, and top with a spoonful of goat cheese.

Carefully wrap the inside leaf around the humitas.

Fold the outside leaf around the inside leaf.

Tie up like a present with the cotton string.

When the water begins to boil, place about 6 tamales in the steamer basket and cover with the lid. Keep the water boiling and steam the tamales for 15-20 minutes, until soft and heated through.  Remove the tamales and repeat with the remaining batches.  It may be necessary to add more water and heat to a boil if you run low.

Ta-da!

An Argentine Treat

I grew up with an Argentine best friend, who always had the best after school snacks. Of course, she had the typical frozen bagel bites which she loved to heat up for the gang, but she always followed up the frozen gourmet with a special treat: alfajores, dulce de leche cookies from Argentina.

I had never thought to actually attempt to make them until the urge came over me to do something nice for my roommate, who always raves about the alfajores she ate when she was studying abroad in Argentina. I raked through hundreds of recipes online--apparently alfajores are all the rage on the food blogs these days--until I settled on this one (I trusted it because the alfajores looked like the right combo of soft but still cookie-like and it was a Spanish/English blog called "La Vida en Buenos Aires").

The result was heavenly, and the cookies worked as a highly effective bribe to get several friends to come visit and taste test. Even though it is a little more expensive than my typical recipe, most of the ingredients are things you'll probably have lying around. I would make this recipe a million times over.

ALFAJORES DE DULCE DE LECHE 
(DULCE DE LECHE SHORTBREAD COOKIES)

THE GOODS

1/4 pound butter (1 stick) at room temperature ($1.49 or less for 2 sticks)
4 egg yolks, lightly beaten ($1.29 for a dozen)
1 teaspoon vanilla ($4.79 for a large bottle - could be free if you have it)
1 teaspoon lemon or lime zest ($0.20)
1 cup corn starch ($1.30)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda ($1.55)
1 teaspoon baking powder ($1.39)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk ($1.09) - or a can of dulce de leche if you don't want to make it
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
Powdered sugar or grated coconut for dusting
Parchment paper or a nonstick baking sheet
*Optional:  2 tablespoon brandy or cognac (I didn't use it and they still turned out delicious)

The Grand Total: $13.10

THE WAY
*If you're making your own dulce de leche, start preparing it at least 3 hours in advance.

Dulce de Leche

Remove the label from your can of sweetened condensed milk. Place it in a large pot and pour in water until the can (still closed) is submerged. Remove the can. Place the pot of water on the stove over high heat until the water is boiling. When it starts to boil, carefully place in your can of milk and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot to reduce water evaporation. Simmer for 3-4 hours, refilling the water if it evaporates.

Then, remove the can and let it cool before you use it for the cookies.

If you're afraid of heating a sealed can, here's the "safe recipe" according to La Vida en Buenos Aires: Pour 1 can sweetened condensed milk into 9-inch pie plate. Cover with aluminum foil; place in larger shallow pan. Fill larger pan with hot water. Bake at 425 degrees F for 1 hour or until thick and caramel-colored. Beat until smooth.




 Cookies

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy and creamy. Add the egg yolks one by one. Add vanilla and brandy and mix well. Combine flour, cornstarch, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. Add the flour mix over the butter mix and work with your hands until the dough became soft. Do not add extra flour.

Wrap in saran wrap and chill for 2 hours.

Check out the strong hands using my makeshift rolling pin...

Go Bears!

(*Note: when I did this step, the dough was rock hard and crumbly and I was very worried about how the cookies would turn out. So I wet the dough with water to help it roll out easier. It worked and the cookies turned out perfect, so have no fear!) After the 2 hours, preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. On a floured work surface, roll out dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch.

Cut into 2-inch rounds (I used a shot glass as a cookie cutter to make lil mini cookies) and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

 

Bake for 15 minutes or until done. 

The cookies will be dry but not brown. When the cookies are cool, spread a spoonful of dulce de leche on one cookie and top it with another. Press together gently; dust with powdered sugar (as I did) or roll the seam of the alfajor in grated coconut. You can also dunk the whole thing in chocolate if you're feeling naughty.

Like eating a South American cloud....